(Cross-Posted at Silence Isn't Golden)
What is Labor Day?
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working man".
It's a day in which we honor the workers who are the backbone of the American economy. It's not just a day off from school and from work in which we get to have picnics and set off fireworks.
An obvious point? Apparently, not so much here in Tennessee.
Workers at the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day but will instead be granted the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
According to a news release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a new 5-year contract at the plant included the change to accommodate Muslim workers at the plant.
Union leaders say implementing the holiday was important for the nearly 700 Muslims, many of them Somalis, who work at the plant that employs a total of 1,200 people.
We have a fairly large population of Somali immigrants in Middle Tennessee. They escaped from their war-torn country in the hopes of being able to live and work in freedom.
I don't know about anyone else, but I look at this story and I see the true spirit of Labor Day come to life. The workers preferred to work on Labor Day and instead have a day off a month later. Through their union, they negotiated the change with the company. It may seem like a small change, but one that was extremely important for the workers. Isn't having a strong enough union to be able to effect such changes what Labor Day is all about? I look at this and think that the founders of Labor Day would be proud.
Of course, the wingnuts don't see it that way. They only need to see the very mention of a Muslim holiday before they go apeshit:
On one hand I’m torn. A private business should be able to give everyone 365 days off a year if they want. On the other hand, replacing Labor Day for a holiday to placate the most violent, intolerant, misogynistic religion on the planet may not be the greatest idea. And while it shows a politically expedient gesture to their employees where the company has financially given up nothing, it may not play as well to their customers.
********************
This is a frightening example of incrementalism, the process by which groups achieve partial means to an ultimate end. For those who believe that the current fight in the Middle East is religious in nature, this concession by Tyson brings us one step closer to accepting Sharia Law as the law of the land in the U.S.
OMG, they're refusing to honor an AMERICAN holiday and asking to honor their own traditions! We're all gonna die!
I would ask these conservatives though--what the hell do you care? It's a privately-owned business doing what they feel is in their best interest. Besides, it's not like any of you give two shits about American workers or organized labor. To you, Labor Day is exactly what I said it's not--a day for fireworks and picnics, nothing more. Workers are just those people who whine and make imposing demands and drive down stock prices, they're not real people who deserve a day of commemoration.
Oh, and by the way, Cornell University never gave us students Labor Day off either. You know why? Because Labor Day always falls near the High Holy Days, when many Jewish students (myself included), go to synagogue instead of class. There was no outrage then over how those Jews were imposing their beliefs on everyone else and how we weren't respecting an American holiday.
No, that kind of outrage is reserved strictly for the Muslims.
Personally, I would prefer to celebrate the true spirit of Labor Day. And I would like it if these wingnuts would not shove their anti-American lifestyle down our throats.